Central Perk: 15 mar. 2014

sâmbătă, 15 martie 2014

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

President Obama is the Biggest Fraud Ever Perpetrated on US Citizens (Fantastic Carey Wedler Video)

Posted: 15 Mar 2014 03:51 PM PDT

Several people sent me a video by Carey Wedler. I just played it. It's short, accurate, and one of the most powerful videos I have ever seen.

Please play it and pass it on.

Link if video does not play: Why I'm burning my last bridge with Obama.

President Obama promised "change you can believe in". As Wedler shows, people believed but there was no change.

I also recommend "I don't mind NSA spying, I have nothing to hide!"

Here are more More Carey Wedler Videos.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Vallejo Heads for Another Bankruptcy; Oakland, LA, San Diego Doomed as Well

Posted: 15 Mar 2014 12:29 PM PDT

On May 6, 2008, the Vallejo City Council voted 7-0 to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. At the time it was the largest city in California to do so.

In March of 2009 I noted Judge Rules Vallejo Can Void Union Contracts.

Vallejo foolishly refused to do so, and I predicted it would soon be back in bankruptcy over the same reason it went bankrupt in the first place: absurd union wages and even more absurd pension promises.

Sure enough, here we go again.

Vallejo Still Can't Afford its Pricey Pensions

CNN Money reports Once Bankrupt, Vallejo Still Can't Afford its Pricey Pensions

The California city of Vallejo emerged from bankruptcy just over two years ago, but it is still struggling to pay its bills.

The main culprit: Ballooning pension costs, which will hit more than $14 million this year, a nearly 40% increase from two years ago.

Amid threats of legal action from the state's pension giant, CalPERS, Vallejo did little during its nearly three-year stint in bankruptcy to stem the growth in its pension bills.

As a result, Vallejo continues to dole out large sums of money for retirees. Except for new hires, Vallejo's police and firefighters can retire at age 50 with as much as 90% of their salary -- for life. Public safety workers who retired in the last five years have average annual pensions of more than $101,000.

And the pension costs are expected to continue to rise, with a projected increase of up to 42% over the next five years.

Moody's recently warned that Vallejo's pension obligations could force it to file for bankruptcy protection a second time. The credit rating agency said the city offers a cautionary tale for two other California cities teetering on the brink: San Bernardino and Stockton.

"If we don't resolve those costs, then we're going to see services continue to suffer," said city manager Dan Keen, who has led the city since 2012. "We're going to have to cut somewhere."

A lot of cuts have already been made.

Vallejo's roads are littered with potholes. Three of its nine fire stations remain closed. And its police force is down by almost 40% -- though Keen says there are plans to hire more officers this year.

Crime has surged, with more than two dozen homicides last year, compared to only seven in 2006. Burglaries are also on the rise. Residents maintain neighborhood watch groups, but the crime is taking a toll.

"Some people in my neighborhood are voting with their feet and leaving Vallejo," resident Russell Zellers wrote in a 2013 letter to City Hall. "If things continue along the present course, I may not be far behind them."

I am not the only one who predicted another mess for Vallejo. Steve Greehut did the same. For details, see Vallejo's post-bankruptcy plight gets little notice in California's state capitol.

Only One Way to Resolve Costs

There is one and only one way to resolve costs: pension haircuts. Since the state will not allow pension cuts any other way, countless California cities are doomed to bankruptcy.

Oakland, LA, San Diego and numerous other cities are completely zombified by pensions. Eventually all of them will be forced to declare bankruptcy unless a way is found to otherwise reduce pension costs.

The citizens of Vallejo and all the other walking dead cities should not have to suffer through round after round of tax hikes, so a privileged few can retire at age 50 with 90% of top salary pensions for life.

Sooner or later one of these cities is going to do the right thing: smash CalPERS arrogance straight down CalPERS' throat via massive across the board pension cuts in bankruptcy.

A judge allowed Vallejo to do just that. Vallejo refused (most likely to protect the pension plans of corrupt city officials and friends of city officials).

Vallejo will get another chance soon enough to do what needs to be done.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Rewarding Hard Work by Strengthening Overtime Pay Protections

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Weekly Address: Rewarding Hard Work by Strengthening Overtime Pay Protections

In this week's address, President Obama highlighted the action he took this week to reward hard work by strengthening overtime pay protections. As part of this year of action, the President has ordered the Secretary of Labor to modernize our country's overtime rules to ensure that millions of American workers are paid a fair wage for a hard day's work.

While our economy is moving forward, the middle class and those fighting to get into it are still struggling and too many Americans are working harder than ever just to keep up, let alone get ahead. So, in consultation with workers and business, the Obama administration will update and simplify the rules to reward hard work and responsibility.

Click here to watch this week's Weekly Address.

Weekly Wrap Up

Between Two Ferns: POTUS Edition

If you've been living under a rock, you might not know that President Obama sat down between two ferns to talk health care, Bradley Cooper, basketball, and more with Zach Galifianakis.

The President didn't hold back in the no-holds-barred interview. If you haven't already seen the special episode of "Between Two Ferns," or if you just want to watch it again, check it out on our blog.

On Thursday, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the Department of Labor to update and modernize the nation's overtime pay system.

The new system will ensure that millions of our nation's salaried workers will have the protections of overtime pay.

Jennifer Lopez walked at eight months, and was climbing out of her crib at a year old. Alicia Keys was "an old soul" who could hear a song once and then play it. Jonah Hill flooded his elementary school. They also all thought they were invincible, like most young people do. How do we know? Their moms told us.

Sharon Feldstein, Patsy Noah, Terria Joseph, and Guadalupe Rodriguez (otherwise known as the moms of Jonah Hill, Adam Levine, Alicia Keys, and Jennifer Lopez) recently sat down to share why, as mothers, they think it's so important that everyone -- and especially young people -- make sure they're covered.

President Obama met with Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk of Ukraine earlier this week. The two leaders discussed finding a peaceful resolution to Russia's ongoing military intervention in Crimea that would respect Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity.

They also discussed support that the international community can provide to help Ukraine confront its economic challenges, and the importance of uniting Ukraine and working to fulfill the aspirations of the Ukrainian people as they prepare for May presidential elections.

As always, to see even more of this week's events, watch the latest episode of West Wing Week:

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Seth's Blog : Most ramen is pretty good

Most ramen is pretty good

So is most pizza.

But people don't drive across town for "pretty good." They don't make lists of "most convenient to your dorm room" or "works fine if you're around the corner."

If you want us to travel, you have to choose to go beyond pretty good. If you want us to click, you need to give us a reason to leave the usual page and go to yours. And most of all, if you want us to talk about you, pretty good isn't going to get you there.

Pretty good is a choice. It works, often. But it doesn't change anything.

[PS If you are better than pretty good at marketing: Acumen is looking for a world-class marketer.]